Over 40% of electric vehicle drivers will avoid Tesla for political reasons: Study
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Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has made headlines for supporting European far-right movements.
PHOTOS: AFP, TESLA
- Global EV Alliance survey reveals 53% of EV drivers avoid brands for political reasons, with Tesla being the most cited at 41%.
- Elon Musk's political views and actions, including support for far-right movements, contribute to Tesla aversion, particularly in the US, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
- Avoidance of Chinese-made EVs varies by country, influenced by car availability and affordability, especially in developing nations as quoted by Ms Ellen Hiep: "In the Global South, people don't have too much choice."
AI generated
OSLO – More than 40 per cent of electric car drivers worldwide would avoid owning a Tesla, the brand run by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, for political reasons, according to a recent survey.
More than half of electric vehicle (EV) drivers – 53 per cent – said they would avoid certain brands or countries of production for political reasons, according to the survey published on Nov 17.
More than 26,000 electric car owners in 30 countries were surveyed on behalf of the Global EV Alliance, an international network of national EV driver associations.
When asked to specify which brand or country of production they would avoid, 41 per cent of all EV drivers named Tesla, 12 per cent cited China, and 5 per cent said the US.
The survey was conducted in September and October, and the results were weighted according to each country’s share of the global EV market.
Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, was previously almost inseparable from US President Donald Trump as he headed the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, but the pair later fell out bitterly over government spending plans under the Trump-led budget.
The chief executive of Tesla has also made headlines for supporting European far-right movements, criticising diversity policies and making a gesture many observers interpreted as a Nazi salute.
There have been calls for a global boycott, although its impact has been difficult to quantify.
According to the survey, reservations about Tesla were particularly strong in the US (52 per cent), Germany (51 per cent), as well as in Australia and New Zealand (45 per cent).
In Norway, which leads the world in EV adoption, 43 per cent of respondents said they would avoid a Tesla.
However, in India the figure was just 2 per cent.
Globally, 12 per cent of electric car drivers said they would avoid buying cars produced in China. However, there were significant disparities among countries on this issue, with 43 per cent of Lithuanian drivers wanting to avoid Chinese-made EVs, compared with only 2 per cent of Italian and Polish drivers.
“It has to do with the availability of cars,” Ms Ellen Hiep, a member of the Global EV Alliance steering committee, told AFP.
Ms Hiep noted that Chinese models, which are less expensive, are much more common in developing countries than higher-end brands like Tesla.
“In the Global South, people don’t have too much choice. They want to drive electric and they want to have an affordable car, while maybe in Europe and the US, we’ve got a bigger choice,” she said. AFP
